Spot's Hermits One-Shots

Hello, and welcome to my Hermits One-Shots page!  Here you will find any and all of the one-shots I have written and will write for Lady's and my Hermits United roleplay.  Enjoy all of the JohnRose goodness~ <3

Table of Contents

- Nesting -          - Maggie -

          John paced restlessly back and forth through the living room, looking around, thinking. He was searching for something to do, but not just any ordinary activity.  He wanted to clean.  But the problem was, he'd already cleaned and organized just about everything there was at his disposal.  He didn't think the house had ever been so spotless.  He'd already put a load of wash in, and there was another in the dryer.  The dishwasher had been run, and all the plates and glasses and silverware were placed neatly where they were supposed to be.  The windows had been cleaned, the shelves dusted, the bedsheets changed, the linens organized.  Everything was where it should be.  But still, he had this compulsive urge he couldn't quite shake.  He'd had it for a few days now, and it had been steadily growing since then.  By now, he found himself constantly battling to try to quell the urge, while staying in the same room as Rose as much as possible in the process.  It wasn't an easy task.
          Rose, sitting on the sofa with her arms laid over her large stomach, watched him pace with amusement, dividing her attention between him and the television.  She thought she knew what the problem was, though she didn't think he had realized yet.  It wasn't something the vast majority of expectant fathers usually dealt with - in fact, she'd never heard of it happening at all - but she wasn't all that surprised that John was exhibiting it, given he'd experienced so many of her other pregnancy symptoms.  He was nesting.
          She could feel the compulsive urge, too, of course, and had been doing a bit of it herself, though the instinct didn't seem to be as irresistible for her as it was for him.  Perhaps it was because his own instincts were so strong.
          Her mother had come over the day before and commented on his restive actions, as well.  "Is he always like this?" she'd whispered to Rose, looking puzzled.
          Rose had shaken her head, amused. "No, he started a few days ago.  I swear I think he's trying to nest."
          Jackie had only looked more puzzled at that. "But... that's something mothers do!" she'd exclaimed softly, glancing over as John frantically polished the windows.  "Men aren't supposed to nest!"
          "Well... he's not your average man," Rose had pointed out in a whisper, grinning at her husband as he tried to stretch to reach the top of the pane, after a moment giving up and heading swiftly into the dining room, a dazed, almost blank look in his eyes, as if his brain had been working on some sort of autopilot.  A moment later he'd reappeared with a chair and placed it in front of the window before climbing up and resuming his task.
          Back in the present, Rose reached up with one hand, rubbing her temples and trying not to laugh.
          After running his hands through his already-messy hair a few more times and making a few more laps along the right side of the room - Rose had shooed him away from the center after he'd mindlessly walked in front of the telly one too many times - John abruptly hurried into the other room, an idea forming in his mind.
          Rose turned to look as he suddenly fled, her brows rising in surprise and puzzlement.  Where was he off to now...?
          He returned a few moments later, the cleaner and a soft cloth in hand and an almost wild look in his widened eyes, which, coupled with his spiked up hair, Rose had to once again resist laughing at.  He looked like some sort of mad scientist.
          John immediately made for the television, spraying some of the cleaning fluid on the cloth and stretching upward to scrub it lightly across the screen, seemingly oblivious to the fact that said television was on.
          "Oi!" Rose complained, though a slight giggle made it through her voice.  "I was watching that!"
          "Sorry, sorry!" John apologized quickly, glancing briefly back at her.  "Just... give me a mo..."  He attempted to speed up his polishing, shifting over to one side in an attempt to block the screen less and knocking the bottle of cleaner off the mantle in the process, somehow managing to catch it before it fell too far.
          "You're going to hurt yourself if you keep going like this," Rose pointed out with another hint of laughter.  "You need to calm down."
          "I know, I know," John replied distractedly, turning the cloth around and beginning to dry off the screen.  "I don't know what's wrong with me.  I've not felt like this since...  Well, I'm not sure I've ever felt quite like this..."  When he'd first come to this universe, he'd had a lot of trouble settling into a more domestic lifestyle, and had constantly found himself feeling restless and in need of something to do.  But this... this was on a whole other level.
          "I think I do," Rose responded, deciding she should tell him before he actually did hurt himself trying to figure it out.  "You're nesting."
          This finally got John's attention, and he stopped, turning to look at her with wide eyes.  "...Nesting...?" he repeated in surprise.  Of course, with all the reading up he'd been doing, he had come across mentions of the so-called "nesting instinct" that some expectant human mothers experienced... but there had been no mention of the same thing happening to fathers, and the notion that this was perhaps the answer hadn't occurred to him.  But, he thought, it made perfect sense; he wasn't sure why he hadn't thought of it before now.
          The television screen now clean, he made his way over to the sofa, plopping down next to Rose for perhaps the first time that day.  "...Y'know... you might just be right..."  His brow creased in a thoughtful frown. "After all, I've had mood swings and cravings and been hungrier than usual, too... so why not?"
          Suddenly, there was a familiar ding! from the other room, and John abruptly popped back up, his eyes bugging out again.  "Dryer's done!" he exclaimed, rushing into the other room.  Rose shook her head once more, watching him leave.
          A couple of minutes later, he reappeared again, laundry basket in his hands.  He dropped it on the sofa next to Rose and began folding the clothes within, draping them over the sofa's arm as he did so.
          "I sure hope this calms down soon," Rose told him wryly, watching him work, not getting in his way.  "You're going to run yourself ragged.  I know you haven't been sleeping well at night."
          "Yeah..." John mumbled, looking over at her remorsefully.  Despite his apparent energy, Rose could see the weariness in his eyes.  "I'm sorry I've been keeping you up...  I just feel so... fidgety..."
          "I'm sure it will pass eventually," Rose tried to reassure him.  "I just hope that happens sooner rather than later... for both our sakes."  She scooted forward a bit before getting carefully to her feet; she noticed John stiffen slightly and move over to help her, but she was already up.  Wincing slightly, she headed toward the kitchen to get something to eat.
          Frowning, John dropped the shirt he was holding back into the basket and followed her.  He could see how rigid her posture was and hear the unevenness in her steps.  "Is your back hurting you again?" he asked her softly once they reached the kitchen, gazing at her with sympathy in his eyes.
          "A bit," Rose admitted sheepishly, plucking an apple from the bowl on the center island.  She'd been hoping he wouldn't notice; she didn't want to bother him again.
          "Let me rub it for you," John told her with a small, warm smile.
          Rose sighed.  "Oh, but I don't want to trouble you again..."
          "It's no trouble," John assured her, his smile broadening slightly as he put an arm around her shoulders, leading her toward the bedroom.  "You're more than worth it.  I just want you to be comfortable."
          Reaching their room, Rose sat down on the edge of the bed, gazing at him gratefully.  "Thanks, dear," she said softly.
          John smiled at her, reaching forward and resting a hand on her shoulder.  "Of course."  He climbed onto the bed and shuffled around so he was behind her, beginning to massage her back with strong but gentle hands, leaning over her shoulder to give her a tender kiss on the cheek.
          After a little while, he finished the massage and leaned forward again, resting lightly against her back and draping his arms around her neck, hands clasped in front of her, laying his head over her shoulder so he could look up at her, his brown eyes shining with warmth.  "There now.  Bettah?" he asked her affectionately, imitating her accent.
          "All bettah," Rose affirmed softly, smiling at him appreciatively.
          "Good," John murmured back, kissing her on the cheek once more.  He had yet to realize that, in his concern for Rose, he'd forgotten all about his rampant nesting.

          Four weeks after their kidnapping by the evil organization, John and Rose were back in their own house.  John's injuries had nearly completely healed by now - only some slight tenderness on his left side, along with a bit of scarring, signifying the ordeal he'd gone through just a month before.  But while he may have been back to normal physically, over the past week or so, he'd become increasingly restless, having difficulty sleeping at night and hovering over Rose even more than normal during the day.  The baby's mental presence was growing stronger and stronger every day, and John had begun to be able to sense when it was awake and when it was sleeping.  He knew the time had nearly come for Rose to give birth.  It could happen any day now...
          At present, he was pacing restlessly around the library, waiting for Rose to come back into the room; she'd insisted that he didn't need to follow her just to the kitchen and back.  To distract himself, he'd attempted to read, plucking a book from the shelves, paging through it for a few seconds as he paced, before putting it back and moving on to another shelf and another book, repeating the process.  Unfortunately, it wasn't helping...
          Rose had wandered out of the library to fetch a glass of water.  She'd been feeling a bit cold since that morning, but thought nothing of it, really.  Abruptly, her stomach felt as though an elephant had just sat on it.  The glass slipped through her fingers and hit the floor, luckily staying intact, though it made quite a racket and spilt the little water that was left in it.  "Ohh!" Rose groaned in pain, grabbing the countertop to keep herself upright.  "John!"
          John jumped at the sudden racket coming from the kitchen, dropping the book he was holding and dashing to the door.  He was already halfway down the hall by the time Rose called out for him.  "I'm coming!" he yelped, skidding around the corner and into the kitchen as fast as he could, panting a bit, more with nerves than anything else.  "What's wrong?  What are you feeling?  Are you having contractions?" he asked her quickly, putting one arm under hers and the other around her stomach, helping to support her, his eyes wide with concern.
          "I'm feeling wonderful," she said sarcastically, out of breath.  "HOW D'YOU THINK!"  Finally, the pain was over, and she was able to straighten up.  "That was no random cramp," she said, eyes huge.  "Call Martha, and we need to go!"  She clung to him for support, her legs feeling a bit like jelly now.  "I need to lie down..." she muttered, looking about, not sure where to go.
          John nodded, swallowing, fear beginning to creep like ice under his skin.  "Alright...  It's okay...  I'll put some extra blankets on the bed and you can just lie down there...  I don’t think we're going to make it to hospital in time..."  It certainly wasn't usual for the first contraction to be so strong, he knew...
          He led her down the hall, through the bedroom, and into the master bath, helping her to sit down on the edge of the tub.  "Just hold on - I'll only be a minute, okay?" he promised, resting a hand on her shoulder for a moment before hurrying out and beginning to prepare the bed.
          About five minutes later, another labour pain hit, making Rose double over and let out a pained keening sound, like a cat with its tail caught under a rocking chair...
          John was just laying down the last blanket when he heard her pained cry from the bathroom.  He immediately rushed back in, unable to leave her when she was in such pain, and knelt down in front of her, taking her hand and squeezing it in an effort to lend her support.  "It's okay, it's okay..." he murmured soothingly, reaching up with his free hand to sweep her hair from her face before resting that hand on her shoulder once again.  "Just breathe..."
          "I can't, I can't," she whimpered, gasping through the pain.  "It hurts!"
          "I know...  I'm sorry...  I'm so sorry..." John returned softly, concerned sympathy in his voice as well as in his gaze.
          Finally, the pain subsided a bit, and Rose, with John's support, went as quickly as she could to lie down on the bed, glad now that she hadn't changed out of the nightie she'd worn last night.  "Did you call Martha?" she asked, eyes watering from the pain she'd just endured, trying to take deep breaths while she was able to...
          John helped her onto the bed before taking her hand again, fumbling for his phone, which he'd placed in his breast pocket in case he needed to call, and quickly beginning to dial Martha's number.  "I'm calling her right now," he assured Rose, jaw clenched slightly as he waited for Martha to pick up.  He nearly jumped again as her voice finally sounded from the other end.  "Dr. Jones?!  Rose has gone into labor... and I don’t think we're going to make it to hospital in time..."  He flinched slightly at the rapid-fire questions that issued from the other end of the line.  "Um, yes...  ...I think so..." he answered as best he could, opening his mouth to say more, but Martha just kept asking questions.  Finally, he just interrupted her, exasperation clear in his voice.  "She just went into labor and her contractions are already quite strong and less than five minutes apart.  I'm not going to risk driving her to you.  We need you to come here.  Now."
          There was a moment of silence before Martha's voice came through again.  "Right.  I'll be there as fast as I can."
          There was a click as she ended the call, and John set the phone aside, turning back to Rose.  "She says she'll get here as quickly as possible."
          Rose nodded, starting to sweat a little.  "Good, because I get the feeling the baby's not waiting a whole lot longer!" she exclaimed.  She was horribly worried, besides being in pain.  After all, she'd never been through this before, and, for all she knew, any number of things could go wrong...
          John nodded, swallowing again.  "It's gonna be okay, alright?" he tried to reassure her, running the fingers of his free hand through her hair.  "You're doing fine..."  He could sense her fear, and, to a degree, her pain, as well, and shifted on his feet nervously, panting a little with anxiety as he stood by the bedside.  The urge to pace was almost overwhelming, but the need to stay with Rose was stronger; he couldn't leave her now.  She needed him.  He was doing his best to be calm for her, knowing the last thing she needed right now was for him to start falling apart, though inside, he, too, was shaking.  He knew all too well that this had the potential to be either the greatest day of his life... or the worst.  There was no in-between in this situation...
          Not knowing what else to do, and needing to at least try to provide her with some sort of comfort, he sat down next to her on her side of the bed and scooted over until he was pressed up close to her, his knees bent so that his feet dangled off the side of the bed; there was just enough room for him to sit without falling off.  She leaned into him, and he put his free left arm around her, gently drawing her closer so that she was rested halfway against his chest.  His left hand slid down to rest on her belly, while he kept her hand with his right.  He started to breathe more deeply and regularly, trying to calm himself and, hopefully, help her regulate her own breathing.  He could feel her trembling, and closed his eyes, resting his cheek against the side of her head and latching onto their mental bond, strengthening it, sending her all the comforting, supportive thoughts he could muster.  "It's going to be alright," he repeated softly.  "I've got you.  Everything's going to be fine.  You're doing great, and you're both going to be fine."  He felt her nod against him wordlessly, and squeezed her hand a bit.
          Less than two minutes later, another contraction hit, even stronger than the second.  Rose tensed, gritting her teeth in an attempt to muffle the cry of pain.  John could feel the powerful ripple beneath his hand, felt her pain welling in his head, and squeezed her hand tight, another wave of sympathy washing through him.  "Easy, easy," he murmured to her.  "It's okay...  Everything's going to be okay..."  He could feel his own anxiety beginning to spike up again, and clenched his jaw slightly.  It was all happening so fast...  What if there was a problem?  Could the baby's Time Lord genes be causing something to go wrong?  Or worse, perhaps it was his own scrambled part-human, part-Time Lord genetics that were causing some sort of complication...  Rose and the baby...  They could both--  No.  He couldn't think about that.  He needed to be strong.  He shoved the fear back down, replacing it with positive thoughts, knowing
she could sense his emotions through their strengthened link.  Everything's going to be fine, he told himself.  It has to be...
          About 20 minutes and several more contractions later, John heard Martha finally arrive, much to his relief - just as another contraction hit.  "It's okay, love, it's alright...  You're doing brilliantly...” he kept trying to encourage Rose, reaching up with his left hand to stroke her hair, glancing up as he heard Martha call from the other room.
          "How far apart are they?" the doctor asked, rushing about the kitchen and digging through the linen closet for extra towels.  She was digging through her bag, making sure she had the various tools she might need, and scissors for after the baby was born, to cut the cord...
          "Less than a minute now!" John called back, a bit of his alarm creeping into his voice.
        "Uh-oh," Martha muttered to herself.  It wouldn't be long at all!  But there was something she was missing, and she had to find it!  She dug through her bag frantically, trying to locate the missing instrument...
          "...Dr. Jones...?!" John called nervously after a few minutes when Martha failed to appear, his gaze locked onto Rose, wishing desperately that there was something more he could do to help...
          Meanwhile, Rose was gasping and panting, doing her best to breathe through the pain, which was essentially constant now.  The pains had gone from minutes to mere seconds apart, it seemed, and the baby was quite ready to be born - letting out a groan and gritting her teeth, Rose pushed...
          John immediately noticed this.  His eyes widened, and he carefully but quickly shifted away from Rose and back onto his feet, moving down closer to the end of the bed, though he kept a tight hold on her hand.  His eyes widened even further with the realization that the baby was coming, without Martha there to deliver, causing his anxiety to spike up tenfold.  Where was she?!  He couldn't do this!!  What if something happened??  What if he didn't do it right?!  He would never, ever forgive himself...  "MARTHAAA!!!" he practically yelled, looking to the door with fear.
          "Just a minute!" Martha called back desperately, fumbling frantically for the missing tool.
          John stared at the door for a few more seconds, panting hard with anxiety.  There was no time - they didn't have a minute...!  When his yell didn't immediately result in the doctor's appearance, he realized the only thing left to be done.
          He turned back to Rose, sitting down on the bed, one leg over the edge, released his grip on her hand and managed to pull away from her grasp, and quickly shoved up his sleeves.  He looked up to her, locking terrified eyes with her, seeing the fear echoed back at him.  "That's it, Rose, push!  As hard as you can, push!!” he urged her, by some miracle managing to keep his voice from quavering too much.  He then looked down again, grimacing slightly in a sympathetic manner - she must've been in so much pain...
          Rose looked despairingly at John, but did as she was told, pushing with all her strength...
          "That’s it, that's it!" John encouraged her again, glancing up at her face briefly before looking down once more, his eyes widening.  "Come on Rose - you can do this!  Just one more push...!"  He gritted his teeth, holding his breath...
          The next contraction came and Rose pushed again, as hard as she could...  She could feel something give way, and prayed it was nearly over...  Surely it had to be...
          Martha had finally located the item and put all the tools into one of the towels, wrapping it up and grabbing a swaddling cloth as well.  She ran for the bedroom with the bundle in her arms, pushing open the door, not at all prepared for the sight that awaited her...
          John continued to stare down with a look of terror, though by now the fear and pained sympathy in his eyes had been joined by awe, as well.  And then, after a few more heartrending seconds, his daughter was there, in his trembling hands.  He stared down at her with huge, disbelieving eyes as she wriggled a bit, beginning to cry, obviously healthy and very much alive.  The relief that washed over him was immense.  He suddenly realized the breath he'd been holding, and let it out with a shaky, shocked sigh, a tiny whisper of a smile coming to his face, lighting up his eyes.
          After another few seconds, once the baby had quieted a bit - surprisingly quickly - he looked up to Rose, the disbelief in his gaze now joined with an immense amount of affection, pride, and amazement for what she'd accomplished.  "It's a girl, Rose...  A girl..." he breathed softly, joy flooding through him as he spoke the words aloud, lip trembling and tears coming to his eyes as he smiled more fully.  After a moment, he looked back down at the tiny life he held - just in time to see her open her eyes for the first time, struggling to focus on his face.  As soon as their eyes locked, John was immediately captivated - the wave of love that came over him was overwhelming, and so powerful that it caused his chest to ache, but in the purest, most amazing way possible.  He didn't even notice that Martha had finally burst into the room; he was completely mesmerized by his tiny daughter.
          "Hello, sweetheart..." he murmured to her through his watery smile, voice quavering a bit once again - this time, with emotion.  "Oh, she's beautiful..."
          Rose smiled tiredly.  "Little Maggie," she mumbled, lying back on the bed with a sigh of relief, completely exhausted from the pain.  Martha beamed at them, taking one of the towels and cleaning the baby off - as well as making sure her airway was clear - while John held her before gently taking a clean towel and taking Maggie from her father so he could clamp and cut the cord; John somehow managed to still his trembling hands enough to ever-so-carefully do so.
          Once that was done, Martha quickly put a tiny diaper on her while John wiped his hands with another clean towel.  Setting the towel aside, he rested a hand comfortingly on Rose’s closest knee for a moment before reaching for her hand.  He squeezed it gently, giving her a proud, loving smile, before turning back to watch diligently as the doctor wrapped his daughter snugly in a pink-striped swaddling cloth.  Then, she handed her back to John with a tremendous smile.
          "Congratulations," she said.  "Both of you.  You've got a healthy baby girl."
          John held out his hands, carefully taking his daughter back into his arms, cradling her against his chest.  Rose watched him, giving a tired smile at the way he held the tiny infant.  He seemed completely at ease, knowing just how to cradle her; there was no trace of the hesitation he'd exhibited before Rose had become pregnant - an anxiety which had lingered within him even up until the moment their daughter had been born.  Now, he appeared a complete natural, and already was obviously utterly, blissfully, head-over-heels in love.
          John smiled down at his daughter for a few seconds with a look of awe and pure, unrestrained adoration before looking back up to Martha, finally aware enough to respond to her words of congratulations.  "Thank you..." he murmured gratefully, glancing down at the baby again before moving to sit on the edge of the bed next to Rose once more, slowly and gently lowering the baby into her arms.
          "Don't thank me, I was useless!" Martha said, packing the tools, now unneeded, back into the rolled-up towel.  She left the room for a moment and returned with a clipboard and pen.  "Oh," she said, noticing the date and starting to laugh.  "Happy Father's Day, John!"
          John glanced up in surprise at Martha's words, staring at her in puzzlement for a moment before bursting into a grin of disbelief.  "I... didn't know..." he said with a slight laugh, turning to look back down at Maggie and then to Rose.
          Rose smiled down at Maggie, completely oblivious to anything but the three of them until Martha broke into her reverie.  She grinned up at John.  "I'm not even going to try to top this Father's Day present!" she said, turning back to look fondly at her newborn daughter.
          "No...  Nothing ever could..." John murmured, leaning down to kiss Maggie gently on the forehead, lightly tugging the edge of the blanket up so that it better covered her head before resting his hand on top of Rose's.  "This is the greatest Father's Day gift I could ever have received..."  He settled further next to Rose, putting his free arm around her shoulders and giving her a tender kiss on the forehead, as well, before resting his cheek lightly against her head,
turning his attention back to his tiny daughter, his gentle gaze shining with endless affection and something close to reverence.  It was so hard to believe that something so small, so innocent and pure, could come from someone like him.  But then, she was Rose's daughter as well as his.  His smile broadened further as that realization finally, properly hit him full-on.  He had a daughter.  They had a daughter, together; a tiny, tiny little girl, a testament to their love for each other, a love that had brought them together again, through all of time and space, across multiple universes.  All the fears he'd had, about his old, battered, bruised heart being unable to fully accept another child into his life, had completely vanished the moment she'd entered the world, and his eyes had touched her precious face.  To him, she seemed the most perfect being in this universe, or any other.  And he was privileged enough to be her father.
          Maggie’s eyes were, for now, a lovely shade of blue, but it was her hair that caught Rose's attention.  "Is it me," she said slowly, glancing up at John before looking back at Maggie, "or is her hair a bit...reddish?"  The curly fuzz on her head was, in fact, a sort of strawberry-blonde colour, with barely darker roots that proved it would probably turn brown later on...
          At Rose's question, John broke from his reverie, glancing up at her for a moment before peering down at Maggie once again.  "Yeah, it is, just a bit," he agreed, laughing quietly before adding in a joking tone, "It just keeps coming back to tease me, doesn't it?  But that's alright..." he crooned softly, turning back to Maggie with a loving smile, "because you're absolutely, positively perfect..."
          "She is, isn't she?" Rose said softly, staring down at her daughter with utmost affection.  "I didn't think I could love you more than I already did," she said softly to Maggie, gaining a small smile, "but I was so wrong in so many ways..."
          John's smile widened at Rose's words, and he nuzzled his cheek a bit more against her forehead.  "I love you, Rose..." he told her gently, raising his head again to kiss her on the forehead once more, before leaning forward and giving Maggie another soft kiss on her head.  "I love you, Maggie."  He'd wasted an entire year in this universe, wallowing in his own depression and self-doubt, before he'd finally opened up and properly told Rose how much he loved her; he wasn't going to hold back his love for their daughter - not one bit, not for a single moment.
          Maggie squirmed a little and closed her baby blue eyes, deciding she was safe enough to sleep.  John gave Rose another tender kiss on the side of her head before nestling his cheek back into her hair, giving a soft sigh of pure happiness and contentment, watching as Maggie closed her eyes once more.
          Martha cleared her throat quietly to get the new parents' attention.  "Can I get a name to put on this birth certificate?" she asked in a soft voice, grinning at the three of them...
          John glanced up with slight surprise at Martha's prompt, nearly having forgotten she was there.  "Well..." he began quietly, not wanting to wake the baby.  He glanced to Rose, still smiling.  "Do you still think Maggie suits her?  Short for Margaret?"
          "Yeah," Rose said with a small nod.  "Margaret, and we'll call her Maggie.  But we never did come up with a good middle name for her..." she mused, thinking.  "I was sort of playing with 'Elaine'...  What do you think?" she asked John, glancing up with just her eyes, not moving her head.  Maggie wriggled again in her arms before going back to sleep.
          "Okay, Margaret Tyler, leaving a space for a middle name, time and date of birth, done, so now all that's left is measuring her, if you'll let me..." Martha said, filling out the birth certificate.
          "Elaine..." John repeated, staring fondly down at Maggie once again.  "Yeah, I like that...  Margaret Elaine Tyler..."  He looked back up at Martha after a moment, frowning slightly in hesitation, his smile slipping for the first time since Maggie had been born.  He didn't want to leave Rose, didn't want to so much as move from her side.  Not only was he still being affected by the events of a month prior - those emotional scars were as permanent as his physical ones - but she'd just given birth, and was vulnerable, and his protective instincts - for Rose, and now for Maggie, as well - were stronger than ever.  "Can we measure her here?" he asked Martha in a wary tone, not shifting from Rose's side.  "Move the scale and things in here and set them up on the dresser, or something?"
          Thankfully, Martha seemed to understand his hesitance, as well as Rose's - she had looked up a bit concernedly, too - and nodded, smiling.  "I think that can be arranged," she told them, heading into the other room to collect the scale and anything else she would need.
          John didn't move from Rose's side as he watched the doctor set everything up.  When she turned to him expectantly, he finally, reluctantly, shifted his left arm out from behind Rose so he could take Maggie once more.  Rose gently handed the newborn to him, and he briefly rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder before carefully taking Maggie into his arms.  He gave Rose another quick kiss on the forehead before stepping over to Martha and the scale.
          "Right, just unwrap her and lay her on the scale for a moment, and we can get both measures at once," Martha said with a smile, gesturing towards the metal bowl of the scale, which was covered in lamb skin to keep it warm and soft.  John nodded in compliance, unwrapping Maggie and letting Martha take her and place her on the scale.  Martha made sure that it was zeroed before laying Maggie on it.  "Eight pounds exactly," she said, impressed.  "Twenty inches long.  Not a bad size at all!"  Maggie, when she was unwrapped from the swaddling cloth, woke up and began to cry again in discomfort, though she quieted a little when she was laid on the scale...
          John frowned slightly as she began to cry, shifting anxiously on his feet a bit at her distress.  "Shhh...  It's alright, sweetheart...  You're okay..." he whispered soothingly, reaching forward to gently stroke one of her tiny hands.
          Maggie abruptly stopped crying at the new sensation of having her hand petted, and suddenly grabbed John's finger in a vice-grip, looking up at him, then down at the finger she held, eyes still unfocused.  She stayed like that for a moment, adjusting her grip on the seemingly giant finger she had ahold of, before deciding that being unwrapped was far more unpleasant than she had originally thought and going back to crying.
          John beamed down at Maggie as she gripped his finger, relieved that the trick had seemed to work... for a few seconds, at least.  His grin slipped into a look of concerned disappointment when she began crying again, and he glanced briefly to Martha, hoping she was nearly finished recording what she required.
          Martha, once she'd finished writing all the information she needed on the birth certificate, put the form away and grabbed the swaddling cloth again, gently but firmly wrapping Maggie into it.  Once that was done she got a small white knit cap and put it on her as well, to keep her head warm.  Afterwards, she handed Maggie to John with a loving smile.
          John was relieved once Martha was finished.  He gladly accepted Maggie back into his arms, whispering to her again in soothing tones and swaying a bit on his feet.  "Ohhh, I know, I know...  The world is such a scary place, isn't it?  It's cold and loud and far too bright...  Everything's brand new to you.  But it's all going to be okay, because your mother and I love you, Maggie, and we're going to keep you safe.  I promise, from the bottom of my heart.  You're going to be okay - you're going to be more than okay.  You, Margaret Elaine Tyler, are going to be absolutely brilliant."  He lowered his head toward her as he spoke, smiling down at her adoringly.  She would recognize his voice, as she would have been able to hear it, to a degree, through Rose's stomach, and he hoped his soft tones would be enough to relax her once again.
          "I think my work here is done," Martha said to John, still smiling.  "Both of them are healthy and sound.  Take care of them, and call if you need anything.  I'll be back in two weeks to check up on Rose and the baby, all right?"  She looked over to Rose, still sitting on the bed across the room.
          John gazed down at Maggie lovingly for a few more moments as she calmed back down before glancing up at Martha and nodding, smiling thankfully.  "I will.  Thank you, Martha."
          Once she'd left, he quickly headed back over to the bed, smiling proudly at Rose and carefully
sitting down next to her once more, lowering Maggie back into her arms and snuggling up next to her again, relieved to be back with her, even if he'd only been just across the room.
          "Ohh," Rose cooed to the baby as she looked around, staring a bit at her father, then at her mother.  She probably would have stuck her hand in her mouth, but the swaddling cloth had tied it rather firmly to her chest.  She didn't mind - it was nice to be all tied up like that, snug and warm.  She wriggled a little and kept looking around, though her unfocused eyes couldn't see much...
          Rose leaned over into John just a little with a sigh of contentment and relief.  "I'm glad I didn't know it would hurt quite that much," she said with a small smile.  "And I'm glad it was quick - Mum always goes on and on about how I took hours to be born..."
          John continued to gaze down at Maggie, still smiling.  He put his arm around Rose again as she leaned into him, looking to her with an expression of endless affection and pride, as well as a bit of awe.  "Yeah...  It was very quick... especially for a first child..." he agreed quietly.  "I guess you got lucky."  He was silent for a few moments before giving a soft sigh, nestling even closer to her.  "You were brilliant, Rose..." he murmured, leaning down to kiss her tenderly on the cheek.  "You were absolutely amazing..."
          Rose let out a soft giggle at John's praise.  "I was just running on instinct, but thanks," she said, grinning.  "You were the one who was brilliant - and not a lot of dads get to play catcher for their first-born..."  She turned her head and gave him a kiss in return, Maggie letting out a soft noise, becoming disinterested in her dull surroundings and deciding she might as well go back to sleep if nothing noteworthy was going to happen...
          John laughed a bit at that, happily kissing her back.  "Yeah, I don't think very many dads ever get to do that..."  His smile widened a bit further as he stared at her with admiration.  "In any case, it was my honor...  ...Though, you have no idea how terrified I was, that I'd do something wrong...  that something would happen..."  He burrowed his face back into her hair... but suddenly, a strand of it brushed up against the inside edge of his nose.  His eyes widened, crossing slightly as he abruptly pulled back, trying desperately to stifle the tickling urge... but he couldn't do it, and doubled forward with a massive sneeze, just managing to turn his face away from Rose and Maggie, though his arm didn't do much to muffle the explosive noise...
          "Aww," Rose said, about to reach over and pat his face when he suddenly sneezed, making both her and Maggie jump with fright.  Maggie immediately began to wail loudly, terrified by the explosion of noise.  "Oh, oh," Rose said, wrapping her arms around Maggie and bouncing a little, trying to calm her.  "Ssh, it's okay, little one, it was just a sneeze!  Shh, shh-shh-shh."  Maggie slowly went from wailing to whimpering a bit, moving her eyes to see her father.  That was so scary!  She hoped she didn't ever do that!  Her two little hearts were fluttering away, still trying to slow down from being frightened...
          John, his eyes now watering, frowned in dismay as Maggie began crying, reaching over to rest his hand gently against her head.  "I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed with a soft whine, feeling terrible.  "Daddy didn't mean to scare you...  It's okay...  Shhh..."  One of his first acts of newly-refound fatherhood...  He'd been a dad barely half an hour and already, he'd terrified his poor daughter!
          Maggie finally quit whimpering when John laid his hand on her head reassuringly.  John smiled slightly once again when his touch calmed her, relieved.  Rose smiled at that as well and yawned suddenly, only now realising how tiring her ordeal had been.  "Here," she said, gently picking Maggie up and handing her to John before snuggling into the pillows propping her up and falling asleep.  Maggie stared up at her father, making a soft whining noise that was somewhat akin to a coo, sniffing a bit and looking around.  She looked with interest at the funny roundish thing on his shirt, wondering what it was...  A snore from Rose made her whine louder in renewed fright.  She did not like loud noises!
          John carefully took Maggie from Rose, cradling her close to his chest, smiling further as she stared up at him, then started looking at his shirt, seemingly interested in one of the buttons.  He glanced over to Rose at Maggie's reaction to her snore before quickly turning back to the newborn, cradling her head in his hand once more.  "Shhhh-sh-sh-shh...  It's alright now...  No more sneezes..." he told her in a whisper, standing up from the bed and dragging his rocking chair over so he could stay right next to Rose, sitting down and beginning to slowly rock.
          Maggie went back to making her almost-cooing noise while John spoke to her, and quieted completely when he started to rock.  John sighed happily as she calmed down again, watching her close her eyes.  He was pretty tired himself, both from all the stress of the day as well as the fact that he hadn't been sleeping hardly at all during the past week.  But that could wait.
          After a few seconds, he adjusted her position in his arms, shifting her so that she was resting vertically against his chest, her head just above his heart.  He cradled her shoulders and head gently with one hand, supporting her bum with the other, and leaned back a little as he continued to rock, his eyes half-lidded with contentment.  He knew that Rose's heartbeat had been her constant companion since she'd first developed the ability to hear, and hoped his own heartbeat would help to calm her further.  He also hoped his scent would help bond her to him and make her feel safer, as well, since, unlike a human baby, smell, along with touch and hearing, were her most important senses at this time, if her Time Lord genes were anything to go off of.  He made a mental note to rub his face a little along her blankets and get Rose to do the same thing, so that she would quickly become more familiar with their scents and be comforted by them even while she slept in her cot.  Rose would probably look at him like he was bonkers when he suggested it, though, he thought with amusement.  Maggie, of course, had her own scent - a little like his and a little like Rose's, but with its own distinct quality unique to her and her alone.  John smiled a bit as he gazed fondly down at her, imprinting that scent permanently in his mind.
          Maggie had quickly closed her eyes and gone back to sleep, nestled securely against her father's chest, soothed by his steady heartbeat.  She wasn't asleep for long, though, as other needs made themselves known.  She started whimpering as she realised her diaper needed changed, opening her eyes and squirming in discomfort.  This whole being born thing had been one discomfort after another so far, and she hoped it got better soon...
          John sat up straighter once more almost before Maggie started fussing, sensing her discomfort, and blinked down at her for a moment before realizing what exactly the problem was.  He glanced over at Rose, checking she was still asleep, and stood, slipping quietly out of the bedroom and into the small room next door, which they had designated the nursery.  The cot was in their room for now, of course, but the changing table was still here.  He grabbed a fresh cloth diaper and carefully laid Maggie down, unwrapping her and quickly changing her before bundling her up once more, looking pleased with himself.  "First diaper!" he murmured excitedly, lifting her up again and heading back into the bedroom.
          Was that really something to celebrate?  Oh well, at least she felt better.  Maggie fidgeted a little, starting to get tired herself, though she was also a little on the hungry side...  She let out a sort of grunt and decided she might as well sleep while she could, shutting her eyes as her father walked back to the rocking chair with her...
          John rocked contentedly in the chair with Maggie for a little while longer while Rose napped, cuddling her close, letting his head hang down so that his cheek lightly brushed his daughter's head, his eyes closed in a blissful expression, though he did not sleep.  He didn't want to miss a single moment of this vital bonding time, though he knew once Rose awoke and everyone settled in more he would probably crash from exhaustion.  For now, though, he was simply content to rock, watching over his love as she got some much-needed rest on the bed less than two feet away, and their tiny daughter, who was now dozing again as well, wrapped snugly and comfortably in his arms.